She loves me, she loves me not

But I think she loves me. Even if these are the candy hearts I received.

Every day should be Valentine's, don't you think? I don't mean wearing red and buying flowers and candy and going to dinners. I mean thinking about how much you love another person (or other people.)

It is one of my favorite holidays mainly because it offers a free pass to be goofily romantic. Anything goes on this day when it comes to professing your love. I say the sillier, the better.

Go ahead and kiss in public. Embarrass the kids if you got them. Embarrass other people around you if you don't. Wear matching clothes--Aloha wear in February is always special.

Oh, Jocelyn just brought me three more candy hearts to make up for the droll ones above.

Oh, she is the sweetest woman I have ever met.

Such poetry.

I don't deserve her.

I'm so touched that I can evoke such sentiment from her.

Happy Valentine's Day everybody.

049 - Spend a one-on-one day each month with Gabe

Sometimes the guys just have to have some serious guy time. Women reading this probably don't understand what I mean. This isn't bonding over shopping for clothes or shoes I'm talking about here.

No. This is about spending a day hiking, or driving go-carts, or playing laser tag, or going fishing, or visiting historic battlefields.

Gabe and I need more time without mom or sis around. This 101 thing in 1,001 day activity is meant to create the habit, for both of us, of planning and spending time together.

You might think, it's only one day per month, that isn't a big deal. Well, I'm talking about a whole day here, not a couple of hours. These are days when we leave the house early, go grab breakfast, and start exploring and doing stuff together. We won't be home any earlier than 4 or 5 in the evening. In the summer it will probably be later.

He's going to be 11 years old soon. He won't be young for long. We need to make sure we stay connected now. This is meant for me as much as him. I want Gabe to talk fondly of me to his grandkids.

And when we're out and about and we get tired, we can act like orangutans and lounge around chewing on some straw.

Sometimes the day gets away from you

Some days it's best not to have plans.

On those days, the best you can do is have a general guideline of where you'd like to go and what you'd like to do, but you agree to follow the current and let the flow of the day take you where it needs to go. We do this in the name of family, work, civic responsibility, etc.

Yesterday was a bit like that.

After getting my daughter off to school, I went to vote in the Virginia primary before heading to work. Like much of the country, the weather was windy and cold.

When I arrived at work, my calendar was magically full of meetings. Not just meetings, but working meetings. The kind where I can join via a conference call and continue working on other things. The kind where we're not talking about doing things, but actually doing things. And, in a few cases, the kind that had me as the discussion leader.

They were scheduled straight through lunch. No breaks. I had to arrive late at one of them in order to use the restroom.

Oh, I haven't mentioned that I skipped breakfast. My energy levels dipped to 4:15 a.m. levels by 1 o'clock. Luckily the one o'clock meeting ended after only 15 minutes. I could grab lunch before the 2.

But the cafeteria only had fried food. Eating a meal only from the salad bar was out of the question. So, I had to chance leaving the building.

By that time, it had been raining for a couple of hours and the temperature was nearing freezing.

A quick trip to Arby's turned into a long wait in the drive-thru for a sandwich and an unsweetened tea...I could've eaten a large curly fries. When I returned, it was 5 minutes after 2. My next meeting had started.

We had 4 points to cover in that meeting. When I arrived they were still discussing point 1. When I left at 3 for my next appointment, we were still working out the kinks regarding point 1. You know what a mix of guilt and relief feels like? Well, I do.

At 3, I was supposed to be at Virginia Blood Services, where I was donating platelets again. Normally, I donate at work, but they called and I felt compelled so I scheduled an afternoon appointment. I drove there, knowing I would be 15 minutes late, only to discover that they had moved into a new building that was only about 3 minutes from my office. Oh, boy.

I arrived at nearly 3:30. They did not hook me up to the machine until nearly 4. The procedure takes 76 minutes once it begins. I read old issues of Time magazine and last week's Richmond Style Weekly. They gave me Fig Newtons and water. I had finished off the iced tea on the circuitous drive to the new building. My blood pressure was nice 108/71, but my pulse, at rest, was 90. Lovely caffeine.

At 5:30, with numb lips from the anti-coagulent, I headed home. I would have just enough time to eat before we set out with Gabe for the middle school he'll be attending next year. They were having an open house for parents and kids, introducing them to the school and what middle school life is like in this particular program.

Arriving home, in the rain, in the dark, at 6:15 with only a roast beef sandwich and a couple of Fig Newtons in my system, I was starved. Everyone had eaten. I had kid leftovers of a small bowl of mac & cheese and a bowl of steamed broccoli.

Monica called from school at 6:20. She had stayed after to work on an orchestra presentation. They were performing at the open house at 7. She didn't have her informal performance polo with her and she would like to have it by 6:30. We live 15 minutes from school. We hurried and arrived by 6:45.

From that point, we listened to a variety of presentations from students, teachers, and administrators. We heard music from the orchestra and later, the band. We had Q&A sessions with students, went on a tour of the building with the kids, and had a long conversation with Monica's orchestra teacher.

We made it home at 9:30. Monica was starving. By the time we settled down, cleaned up and went to bed, it was well after 11.

Some days fly by and you have no control. Yesterday felt that way for me.

But I am glad that I didn't have to play rugby in the mud.

Why I could never be a movie reviewer

There was a time when I would see practically every movie that was released. Whether they were good or bad, or so nondescript that they might not ever be viewed again, I paid my for matinee ticket and went to the cinema.

If you see a lot of film, you start thinking that "Hey, maybe I could write movie reviews." I thought that, but never acted on it. Now, I'm glad I didn't.

Here are my reasons why:

1) Most movies just aren't very good. They have about as much value as the typical television show. They aren't worth the time for the reviewer or the filmgoer.

2) Movies that are considered "good" usually, these days, contain strong imagery that sledgehammers you over the head with its goodness.

3) Escapist comedies always run the risk of containing some form of scatalogical humor, which I detest and which, unfortunately, lingers in my memory for the rest of my life. I'll never forgive the makers of Ladies Man, for example.

4) Obviously, a reviewer has to spend time at the cinema, subjecting him or herself to the law of bad movie averages and then he or she has to come up with a coherent review of a likely incoherent movie. Or even worse, come up with something to say about a so-so movie.

I can't subject myself to gross out humor, or tense situations involving a gun and the potential for graphic violence. I can't separate myself from realistically cruel depictions of life, such as movies regarding the Holocaust.

While horror movies used to be my thing, today I find them tedious. There scares come from very loud noises and things jumping out from the dark. I just don't feel like sitting through these things, watching characters make very stupid choices.

And, we should probably not talk about the stupid choices made in so-called chick flicks. Sometimes two stupid people deserve each other. These types of movies provide the fantasy situation where it actually happens. Typically, these people wind up in terrible relationships and marriages with mismatched partners. If we're lucky, we too can find someone stupid enough to love us. I don't need these types of movies.

Wow, this post has a decidedly negative vibe. Let me remedy that. But first, a quick restatement of this post's purpose: I couldn't be a movie reviewer because I cannot tolerate the thought of subjecting myself to movies that will likely be uninteresting and valueless at best or contain images that will be indelibly stamped in my psyche at worst.

Now the upbeat part: I am so appreciative of the fact that there are people who review movies. They reduce my risk and save my money with their takes on film. Thank you, movie critics.

Plus, I love movies. Even the ones that make me uncomfortable, I can still appreciate for the artistry and effort that went into making them.

Those movies that I love make it all worthwhile. I like making lists and ranking things. I love a lot of movies and if I had to make a Top 10 list it would change depending on the season, my mood, and my current interests. Here's a look at what it might be today, in no particular order:

1) All About Eve
2) Patton
3) Glory (probably a consistent Top 10 for me)
4) Singin' in the Rain (except that silly dance daydream sequence...sheesh)
5) The Sixth Sense
6) Evil Dead 2 (probably another regular Top 10)
7) Blade Runner (this one, too, would be a regular on this list)
8) The Princess Bride (and this one...maybe I could make a Top 10)
9) Little Miss Sunshine
10) Once Upon a Time in the West (if Henry Fonda is the bad guy, it has to be interesting, if not good)

What movies do you like? Whose your most trusted movie reviewer? I trust, but don't always agree with, Roger Ebert, as I have for going on 30 years.